This is an article from the archives. Links and some facts and findings may be outdated.

TFT alum Alexander Payne earns sixth Oscar nomination

Noela Hueso/School of Theater, Film and Television |
January 16, 2014

When the Academy Award nominations were announced on Jan. 16, it came as no surprise that "Nebraska" by UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television alum Alexander Payne was among the best picture nominees.

After all, the film has been receiving acclaim from critics’ associations, entertainment industry guilds and awards ceremonies since it won the Palme d’Or and Dern won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The black-and-white film, which Payne has called “a comedy with moments of gravity,” and its stars Bruce Dern and June Squibb were all nominated for Oscars. "Nebraska" also received nominations in the best original screenplay and cinematography categories.

With Thursday’s announcement, Payne now has two directing nominations under his belt (he was previously nominated for 2004’s “Sideways”), one adapted screenplay nom (1999’s “Election”), a best picture nom (2011’s “The Descendants”) and two wins in the adapted screenplay category (“The Descendants” and “Sideways”) for a total of six nods from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

For those who like keeping score, some interesting facts have emerged since the nomination announcement, according to the Hollywood Reporter: